DeSantis signs 6-week abortion ban for Florida

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday night signed legislation banning most abortions in the state after six weeks of pregnancy. 

“We are proud to support life and family in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said in a statement. 

“I applaud the Legislature for passing the Heartbeat Protection Act that expands pro-life protections and provides additional resources for young mothers and families.”

Earlier Thursday, the state’s Republican-led House of Representatives voted to replace Florida’s current 15-week abortion prohibition, with backers basing the new timeframe on the development of a fetal heartbeat.

The revamped ban includes exceptions for when a woman’s life or health is at dire risk due to the pregnancy, fatal fetal abnormalities and in cases of rape or incest, under certain conditions.

The “Heartbeat Protection Act” has been met with fierce resistance from Democratic lawmakers, who cast it as a grave violation of women’s rights.

Protesters loudly chanted their opposition in the House’s public gallery Thursday, leading to a 15-minute recess to restore order.

Heavily outnumbered Florida Democratic House members joined the objectors just outside the chamber to sing “Lean on Me” at one point.

The legislation, which passed the Florida Senate last week, comfortably prevailed Thursday by a margin of 70 to 40, with the vote falling on party lines.

Doctors who violate the ban would face a third-degree felony charge.

The law will activate only if the current 15-week ban survives a legal challenge by the Center for Reproductive Rights and other pro-choice groups in the Florida Supreme Court.

“Across the country, pregnant people are being pushed to the brink of death because they can’t get an abortion,” said Elisabeth Smith, the organization’s director of state policy and advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights.

“Yet Florida lawmakers have rushed this dangerous ban through the legislature with no concern for their citizens and how it will harm them.”

But Florida Speaker of the House Paul Renner argued in favor of the tightened restrictions earlier this week.

“When a child has a heartbeat, I think that’s when people say, ‘Wait a minute, this is something different,’” he told Politico.

“Anyone who denies that an unborn child is alive and has a beating heart at 6 weeks is blatantly ignoring science to suit their own pro-abortion agenda,” said Dr. Tara Sander Lee of the Charlotte Lozier Institute after the passage.

“Florida is taking a bold and science-based stand, recognizing that behind every beating heart is a human life worth protecting.”